October Update!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Oct 06, 2021 at 10:55:01 AM

Greetings, backers! Hope you’re all having a magical autumn! We wanted to give you an update on the book’s progress as we get closer to getting this deluxe hardcover into your hands. 

We’re putting the finishing touches on the production side of things, so we can get the volume to the printer shortly. Once all files are in the printer’s hands, the printer will give us a printing slot, and then a shipping date to send the books to our facility. There have been disruptions in the supply chain at many domestic printers, but we’re hoping to avoid any delays in our printing process. As soon as we have more specific information, we’ll pass it on to you. Until then, and as always, we appreciate your support and your patience. 

The final 24 hours
over 4 years ago – Thu, Aug 19, 2021 at 04:33:43 AM

Magicians!

We're in the final 24 hours! Pretty exciting, huh? This Kickstarter campaign has been a long road; at times stressful but for the most part, it's been fun and exciting watching as the hardcover edition of The Millionaires' Magician transforms from a sparkle in the eye into a real thing.  Myself and the rest of the team are overflowing with gratitude, and still hoping we hit our stretch goal to create an original story for the new edition. Fingers crossed. 

If you don't mind, I wanted to bring one final project to your attention. A comic called THE O.Z.

The basic premise? What if The Hurt Locker took place in The Wizard of Oz. Pretty cool, right? I backed it yesterday myself. Here's some copy I pulled straight from their KS page to fill you in a little more...

"Decades ago, when a young girl defeated the Wicked Witch of the West, she said farewell to the magical land of Oz… but unwittingly plunged the country into years of brutal civil war. A generation later, the name of Dorothy Gale lives on in her granddaughter, an Iraq war veteran grappling with disillusionment and PTSD — until a tornado strands her in the war-torn battlefield known only as The O.Z. 

Forced to navigate warring factions led by the Tin Soldier, the Scarecrow, and the Courageous Lion, Dorothy must face her past and embark on a dangerous quest for the all-powerful Silver Slippers if she ever hopes to bring peace to the Occupied Zone."

Straight talk for a second. I hate THE WIZARD OF OZ. It's a lousy movie and I'll die on this hill. Screw the Wicked Witch and the stupid lion and the terrible dialogue. It's got nothing for me.

 So why did I back this project? The writer, David Pepose, is the real deal. The art looks great, I don't mean to minimize that part of the book but based on David's past work and the clever way he's using the land of OZ to tell a new story...I'm in.  I'm intrigued. And the fact that I could also get the first issue as part of this campaign for the second issue lets me get caught up on what I've already missed.

If you want to check it out THE O.Z,  you can find it  HERE! Let them know we sent you.

Back tomorrow with one more update.

Keith Champagne

Did you notice?!
over 4 years ago – Thu, Aug 19, 2021 at 02:29:44 AM

Magicians! 

In true sleight-of-hand fashion, while most of us were distracted eating dinner last night, The Millionaires' Magician reached its funding goal!

Steve, Peter, Jordie and myself, along with the hardworking folks at Creation.Ink/Ominous Press,  can't thank all of you enough for supporting this project and helping this hardcover edition become a reality. It's a great book and we're all so excited you'll get to experience the magic yourselves!

We've got a couple of days left to push for the stretch goal: the brand new, 8-page "Millionaires' Magician in Gotham City" story by Steve, Neil Edwards and myself.  Can the Millionaires' Magician outwit the world's greatest detective? Let's push hard the next couple of days and all find out together!

Thank you all. The best is yet to come!

Keith Champagne

The Final Three Days
over 4 years ago – Mon, Aug 16, 2021 at 11:43:39 PM

Magicians! 

We're almost there. Three days left and 93% funded! It seems likely that The Millionaires' Magician will hit its funding goal but...there are no guarantees in life. As amazing as he is, not even Steve Cohen can make money appear out of thin air.

But I have seen him magically transform a dollar into a $100 bill so...then again, maybe he can? Note to self: text Steve later.

While I wait to hear back from Steve, I'll let you guys know that Ominous Press will be pushing hard on social media the next several days to round up the last batch of backers that we need. If you guys see their posts and wouldn't mind sharing them out, every single set of eyeballs helps us to get closer to hitting the bullseye. 

As mentioned the other day, Ominous has also created an exclusive BACKER-ONLY t-shirt that's only offered through these updates, not on the main page. There are several shirts left and every time one gets snapped up, an angel gets his wings. Or something like that...

If you'd like to add a sophisticated, elegant Millionaires' Magician tee to your pledge package, all you need to do is adjust your pledge upwards by $25 dollars and leave a comment with your size. The fine folks at Ominous and Creation.Ink will take care of the rest. Thanks in advance for your extra support.

We're in the home stretch, guys. Hang in there with us a few more days and, knock on wood, we'll have something cool to celebrate on Thursday.

Keith Champagne

New original art reward added!
over 4 years ago – Mon, Aug 16, 2021 at 05:38:01 PM

Magicians!

Hope the weekend treated all of you well!

When The Millionaires' Magician first launched last week, we noticed that the Neil Edwards original sketch rewards got grabbed up fairly quickly; which is great news for the campaign but maybe not so great for some of you, or for new backers who like to collect original art. 

So, with Neil's blessing, we've unlocked THREE MORE new sketch rewards! But... 

This new tier of rewards is a little different from the first because this time around, Neil has a beautiful (ummm...debatable) assistant working with him.  For this next round, Neil's sketches will be inked by the writer of The Millionaires' Magician, Keith Champagne. 

Normally, the writer deciding to do some inking might be a little weird but luckily, Keith is one of the longest tenured inkers in comics, having been working professionally since 1994 for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and more. He and Neil have collaborated on many projects together but don't take our word for it. Here's a couple of samples of their work together!

So if you've got friends that collect original art, spread the word! These new art rewards won't last long and there won't be another round of sketches after these are gone.

Speaking of spreading the word, the competition over the weekend was fierce but the winner of our Dreadstar giveaway is:

PATERNO QUINTAS!

Paterno, send a direct message with your current address and we'll get your books sent out to you ASAP. We appreciate the help spreading the bandwidth on this project.

We're not sure at this time if we'll be doing more giveaways through Kickstarter for this campaign, they objected to this last one, but keep an eye on the Ominous Press social media accounts for details of our next go 'round.

Keep spreading the word, friends. Coming up on week two and we'd love to be at 50% funded when we get there.

Your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink